Heavy handed Catterall’s all-action and hard-hitting style has taken him to an unbeaten 17 fight record with 9 coming by knockout and has claimed the Central Area, WBO European and Inter-Continental belts on the way.

He earned a comfortable unanimous decision against tough Argentinian Diego Gonzalo Luque last time out in December despite injuring both hands in the opening round but is determined to with in style against the current IBF International super-lightweight champion.

‘The Quiet Man’, a former Midlands, English and British lightweight champion, upset the odds against John Wayne Hibbert last November. After being called up at less than a week’s notice, Gehtin spectacularly stopped Hibbert in the fourth round and will be heading into his clash with Catterall full of confidence.

“Martin had a good win last time out which will have given him a lot of momentum heading into our fight,” said Catterall. “He’s been a good domestic fighter over the years and has some decent wins to his name. I know he’ll be up for this fight and I’ve got the bit between my teeth; I’m well up for it!

“I never overlook any opponents and I’m going to train the hardest and the smartest that I can so that on April 8th he’ll just be another notch on my belt.

“Watching Martin and how he’s been fighting of late I can see that he’s a come forward fighter who likes to try and break his opponents down with relentless pressure. His style is perfect for me, I’ll be able to find chinks in his armour and if he keeps coming at me it’s only going to get more painful for him.”

Catterall’s showdown with Gethin lands on the undercard of undefeated Terry Flanagan’s fifth defence of his WBO World Lightweight title against dangerous Russian Petr Petrov; fierce super-welterweight rivals Liam Smith and Liam Williams clash in one of the most eagerly-anticipated all-British showdowns in recent times; South African Zolani Tete faces Arthur Villanueva in a final eliminator for the WBO world bantamweight title; double Olympic gold medallist and women’s boxing icon Nicola Adams OBE fights for the first time as a professional and former GB super-heavyweight Daniel Dubois makes his highly-anticipated professional debut, with more exciting fights to be announced shortly.